Norse Chronicles (1) - Midnight Burning by Karissa Laurel
The first part of the Norse Chronicles by Karissa Laurel: Midnight Burning (not translated, German review). I read the 278 pages in English. Originally published 2015, I recommend it to both sexes 16-death.
Coming to Alaska was not the best idea Solina ever had. Or rather, the safest idea. Because Solina doesn't only stumble over the murderer of her twin brother, when she came to take care of his affairs and bring him justice – she also stumbled over ancient myths, a possible Valkyrie and two sons of ancient North Gods who survived Ragnarök, the end of the world. An event which is about to be repeated – if the personifications of the moon and the sun are eaten by the wolfs. And one of them is already dead...
This book has something. It's not particularly funny and the heroine is probably not winning the favourite book heroine's price, but Solina has something. She's very introverted and focusses on logic instead of feelings, which is quite refreshing. And Solina's still got her heart at the right place, she simply doesn't like taking stupid risks for people she doesn't trust – or know. But she does a lot to keep her loved ones safe – you just might not realise it at first.
Solina's been a baker in her parent's business for a long time. She lets her self be ruled by them, doesn't stand up for herself or take risks of any kind. She was always happy to live through her twin brother – until he is brutally murdered. But then, Solina develops into the exact opposite. She only does what she thinks is right, and you have to reason with her on a logical basis to get her to reconsider. But she does consider pro/contra-arguments. She's allergic to being pushed around and manipulated and it takes her a lot to open up to someone – mainly because she's so afraid of heart break. But once she does open to someone, she can be incredibly sweet. And she's fast to learn and quite resourceful.
The two people who try to make her do things she doesn't are Val and Thorin.
Val is her brother's best friend and has the hots for her – and she for him, in a way, but she doesn't completely trust him. As a matter of fact, she likes him very much, but dislikes it that he can't take her seriously. Val is making fun of everything, but he's also protective and likes to meddle in her life.
The two latter characteristics fit to Thorin as well. He's authorative, cold and stiff at first, but he's also fascinating – there's more to him than meets the eye. He learns to respect “Sunshine” and even like her – which is hard earned, on her part. She doesn't take any shit from him.
But I am kind of sorry for him after she strands at Tori's. He's almost insane with worry and she welcomes him with a “well, that took you pretty long, didn't it? By the way, you didn't even need to come, I'm better off here anyway.” I'd have probably exploded.
Another person with the “take no shit from no one” principle would be Skyla, Solina's new BF. She's resourceful, a survivor and funny – and she encourages Solina to stand up for herself, even if it hurts others. She's just cool.
This is something that fascinates me about this book. You usually have this clear cut Hero-Virtues: Altruism and loyalty to a fault, they think with their hearts and usually ignore their heads, are sweet in their naivity and capture the reader's heart – and save the world.
But here, the characters manage to make you like them even though they haven't all these clear-cut virtues. Sure, Solina can be altruistic, and she is loyal – but she is a strategic, she uses cold logic and, if there are good reasons for not doing something, she'll think twice about doing it. Additionally, she doesn't wrap the people around her in bubble foil, but can be quite hard on them if she thinks it's fitting. She fights for her independence – hard – and looses her temper rather quickly. She's not a typical heroine – but still, she's fascinating and likeable. As is Thorin. He and Solina can be very cold, but there is warmth buried in them. They simply try to... I don't know, maybe protect themselves? Doesn't matter. Especially in the beginning, they are so cold that they shouldn't be likeable – but they are. And I don't know why!
I like how these Norse myth-background was executed. Especially Solina's part in this and her powers – her dreams, her glowing. By the way, I think Midnight Sun would have been the more fitting title for this book. At first you'd think the title refers to Mani's reason for going to Alaska, but then, you realise the double meaning...
The tonus of the book fits to the one of the Norse myths. It's good versus evil in a way, and the most important virtue is being courageous and determined – characteristcs which the main characters share. You also need to be cunning to look through the illusions, and the characters are likely to loose their temper. And if the latter one doesn't fit to Thorin and Solina... Well. I like the fact that Ragnarök actually really took place and why someone would want to repeat it, whom of the players are still there and what their problems are. For example with Mjölnir.
Spoiler:
By the way, the scene at Helen's? How Solina and Thorin interact, how she nearly blows up the mansion and how Thorin coolly tells her that he was too busy checking her out to realise Helen carried his hammer? Soooo cool! I like Thorin. I like the two of them, period.
In addition to the realistic characters, the story was without any mistakes. But it could have been more tense.
In brief:
I give stars for characters, content and ideas and the way the mythology was interwoven with everything.
Sequel:
I received this book as a Freebie by Amazon in exchange for a review.